023: Advocating for Your Gay Mormon Family Member – Part 1

Wendy and Tom Montgomery are devout Mormons from California who have five children. They were part of the movement of many LDS members who pounded on doors in 2008 to support the passage of Proposition 8, the state referendum that overturned the ruling that allowed

same-sex couples to marry in California. They did so not knowing that their oldest son Jordan was gay and that he was struggling with suicidal ideation due to the position his church had taken that homosexual behavior was sinful. He was also worried his family would cut him off if he told them what he was struggling with. He was 13 when he came out to his parents.

This podcast interviews not only Wendy and Tom, but also Jordan (15) and his sister Susannah (14) who has become an advocate for him within the church and her community. They discuss the struggles of loving their faith and wanting to continue with their Mormon heritage while simultaneously going through many hurtful experiences as they try to educate themselves and others and stand in unity as a family structure. It is a wonderfully vulnerable and open window into the types of issues so many LDS families are struggling with as they grapple with the implications of our Mormon beliefs and their LGBT loved ones.

They have been recently interviewed by a wide variety of media outlets.